1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a station for packing individual products to be shipped as a group, and more specifically to a station that efficiently packs the products in a container with reduced stress to the shipping container and reduced exertion by the station operator.
2. Description of the Related Art
In today's fast paced world the speed of production is ever increasing. Assembly lines are moving faster to generate more product and increase corporate revenues. Moreover, the demand for on-time delivery without packaging errors from the vendor is becoming the norm in all sectors of industry, be it shoes, auto parts or medical equipment. Suppliers are threatened with the prospect of contract cancellation if they cannot deliver goods on time, in marketable condition, and without inventory errors. It has become a matter of corporate survival that every measure be taken that will enhance the ability to compete in the global marketplace. One of those measures is the development and installation of equipment to accomplish expedited production that does not damage the delivery container and yet also does not impair the rate of production. Tools that facilitate prompt delivery of error-free orders of undamaged goods are the tools that will separate companies that survive from those that will not.
These concerns are not the exclusive result of problems at the packaging facility, as rough handling in transit by a common carrier or simply delays in transit can raise the ire of the customer. Nonetheless, industry is perpetually besieged with problems arising from equipment that occasional, or even frequently, damages the shipping container while the container is being packed or while it is in transit to a wait station for shipment to the customer. Consequently, industry must carefully consider the configuration of packaging equipment and packaging stations to eliminate or at least minimize the prospect of damage to containers.
A concern also of paramount importance is the need to minimize, or prevent altogether, the prospect of injury to the operator that is packing the products into the shipping container. Injury is often caused through the operator's over-exertion because the shipping container is awkwardly positioned and cumbersome for packaging, or when the fully loaded container must be moved for purposes of shipping. Such packaging configurations defy productivity enhancements and serve to undermine worker safety.
DiRicio U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,016 discloses a mechanism for supporting a carton in an upright position during loading, and a mechanism for discharging the carton. It is also known to tilt a box during filling [See, e.g., Rouse U.S. Pat. No. 3,229,444, Morano U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,083, and Staley U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,782].
The above-described systems offer less than optimal performance with respect to compactness, overall reliability and to the efficiency and interrelationship of the station to the feeding and discharge conveyors as well as the simplicity of the overall mechanism. What is needed is a packing station that provides the desired ability to allow for rapid placement of packages within the container and yet minimize the physical exertion that must be performed by the operator.